


Like Sensible People Do

by amelia_petkova



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Episode Tag, F/M, Fix-It, Friendship, Season/Series 01, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-16
Updated: 2012-06-16
Packaged: 2017-11-07 22:12:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/436011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amelia_petkova/pseuds/amelia_petkova
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asami is going to fix this stupid love triangle. Contains spoilers through 1x09.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Sensible People Do

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anybody from Legend of Korra.

The night they find Korra after her escape from Tarrlok’s cabin, Asami slips away from the group and goes to bed. Nobody follows her. She always was good at sneaking away but this time she wishes Mako had noticed. She curls up in bed and for a little while, indulges herself by feeling utterly miserable. How unjust it was that she was going to lose the first boy she really cared for to somebody else. Yet how could she hope to compete with the _Avatar_? 

Tears start several times but never fully form. Asami rolls onto her back and stares at the dark ceiling. Time to find a way through her problems, like her father taught her. Thinking about Hiroshi Sato makes Asami start to ache all over again, but she’s honest enough to admit that she is her father’s daughter and not all his lessons are worth throwing away, just because he’s turned out to be an idiot who betrayed her. If there’s one thing she hates it’s inaction, and sitting around waiting for her increasingly clueless boyfriend to figure out how he feels seems to be the epitome of inaction.

The next day, Asami waits until the stream of people fussing over Korra has trickled away and even Mako leaves for a short time. When she knocks on the bedroom door and walks in Asami sees that Korra is still lying in bed, tucked under blankets embroidered with Water Tribe designs. Pabu is snuggled up to her like a stuffed platypus-bear. Even water-benders and the Avatar apparently need time to recover from exposure. If she didn’t think it would sidetrack the conversation, Asami would demand to know why Korra, a Water Tribe girl who should know better, had gone off at night in the winter without her parka. “Hello, Korra.” 

“Oh um, hi, Asami,” Korra says and blushes. If Asami weren’t still dreading the potential outcomes of this talk, she’d laugh. Korra is one of the worst liars she’s ever met, just as bad as Bolin. Korra might as well broadcast her emotions over every radio station. Not for the first time, Asami wishes she liked Korra less. This would be so much easier if the other girl weren’t so damn _sincere_.

“How are you feeling?” Because even though Asami is somewhat annoyed with both Korra and Mako, she still cares.

Korra makes a face as Asami sits next to her. “Like I’m going to bend an ice cube around the head of the next person who asks me that. I’m fine!” 

“Sure you are,” Asami says, unconvinced. “Anyway, we need to talk. Are you in love with Mako?”

“I’m not—I—that is,” Korra’s face turns bright red and she yanks the blankets over her head. Without even thinking, Asami reaches forward and pokes Korra in the side, like she’s seen Councilman Tenzin’s kids doing since the moment she arrived at the Air Temple. She’s rewarded with a squawk. Imagine that—the fierce, tough, Avatar Korra who escaped from Tarrlok and Amon all by herself is ticklish. Asami pokes again and there’s another muffled shriek.  
“I’m going to do this until you come out. Maybe Meelo would like to help.” 

Korra throws back the blankets and sits up. Her hair sticks out every which way and her face is red. “I’ll get you for that.”

Asami is unrelenting. “Just answer the question: are you in love with Mako?” 

“I know I was. Something I think I still am…I don’t know.” Korra picks at the blanket as she speaks and doesn’t meet the other girl’s eyes. “I didn’t want to say anything. Didn’t want to hurt you.”

“That happened anyway.” Asami’s not exactly pleased to see Korra flinch but she is satisfied. The point had to be made. “If it’s any comfort, I’m angrier with Mako.”

“Um, thanks? How’d you find out, anyway?” 

“I notice things. And Bolin gave it up.”

“Figures.” Korra throws her hands up in the air. “Look, I like you now and I’m trying to stay out of it, but he keeps being _nice_. And that felt so good, after what happened with Tarrlok.” 

“I know,” Asami says. She doesn’t know the whole story yet but she has enough details to imagine the nightmares anybody would have after being threatened by both a bloodbender and Amon. She’ll focus more on that later. “So, what are we going to do?” 

“Do?”

“One of us has to do something,” Asami says patiently. It’s easier to talk now that Korra hasn’t tried to deny anything. Maybe she’s tired of inaction, too. “Either one of us needs to be with Mako while the other one backs off, or we need to come up with another option. I don’t think he even has a clue.”

Korra’s face looks relaxed for the first time since Asami entered the room. “I kinda noticed that. I don’t know if I’m interested in splitting a guy like a bowl of noodles, so do you have any other ideas?”

“Just one.” Asami explains her plan. When she’s finished Korra says, “I think I like it.”

“But can you do it?” Asami asks.She can practically see the thoughts going through the other girl’s head. At last Korra says, “If you can, so can I.”

Thank goodness for an athlete’s competitive streak. Asami nods. “It’s a deal. Now that we have that settled…what in the world possessed you to go off to Tarrlok’s office on a winter night without your coat?”

Korra dives back under the blankets.

#

Korra still needs a little more recovery time, so they wait until the next day to act. When they walk into the common room, Mako and Bolin are the only other ones there.

“Hi, Asami,” Mako says. This is immediately followed by, “Korra, why are you up? You’re supposed to stay in bed.”

Asami sighs. The main thing that attracted her to Mako (after she got over her humiliation at the whole running-him-over thing) was his kindness but that kindness isn’t always appropriately directed.

“I’m fine,” Korra says. She even flexes an arm, like she’s about to practice pro-bending. “Just needed a little sleep.

“Mako, we need to talk,” Asami says. Mako appears to really notice her and Korra standing side by side for the first time, and his eye visibly twitches. Asami keeps her gaze on his ( _“Always look them in the eye,” her father had said_ ) but she catches a glimpse of movement and sound that must be Bolin trying to hide laughter at his brother’s discomfort. 

She continues, “Korra and I are upset with you.”

He frowns. “About what?”

“You and I are dating, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“But you think you love Korra, too.”

“What? I don’t—I mean, not _anymore_. Where’d you hear that?”

Bolin looks like he’s about to start shuffling towards the door but Asami takes pity on him. “That’s not important. What _is_ important is that Korra and I want to stay friends.”

“And none of us wants to hurt each other. We’re Team Avatar, after all,” Korra reminds him.

“That’s why we’re taking a vacation,” Asami says.

“All three of us,” Korra adds, nodding.

“You’re going on vacation and you aren’t bringing me along?”

“Not now, Bolin.”

“Oh. It’s not a real vacation, is it?”

“Bolin!”

“Got it, shutting up.”

“A vacation?” Mako asks. He still looked confused.

“A romantic vacation,” Asami explains. “You and I are going to take a break. During that time, you will not be romantic towards either Korra or me. In turn, we will not be romantic with you.”

Korra continues laying out the conditions like she and Asami had practiced. “This goes on until you figure out which one of us you want to date, and that’s only if we’re still interested. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m having more freak-outs about this whole Amon thing and worrying about one of us getting hurt because of a love triangle is kind of more stress than I need right now. Got it?” Korra loses her calmness a bit and looks like she’s considering pounding the point into Mako’s head literally if need be. 

Mako looks a bit stunned but he nods. “I think so.”

“Good.” Asami relents a little. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but Korra and I think this is best for now. In the meantime, we’re going to let you adjust and do our own thing,” she says gently before turning to Korra. “Want to go driving?”

Korra grins and Asami has never been happier for deciding to go through with something difficult.


End file.
